You’ve packed the Christmas tree away, you’ve had a smashing New Year’s Eve and now you’re ready for a new challenge – right? These are five awesome workout trends you need to try out this year – whether you’re a HIIT fiend, outdoorsy type or total newcomer, these are for you.

Rowing

Forever neglected in favour of the treadmill and the bike, the rowing machine is one of your gym’s best kept secrets. Packing a full body workout, the rower hits your arms, chest, abs, glutes, quads AND hamstrings for a serious cardio session. Take it easy for a steady session of 20 to 30 minutes, or hit it hard by seeing how fast you can slay the classic rowing distance of 2K and try out 500m sprints. London studio The Engine Room uses Technogym Skillrow rowers to loop your data up to a screen, so competitive types can hone in on their performance. Founded by competitive rower and experienced PT Chris Heron, The Engine Room teaches proper rowing technique before putting your heart rate to the test with a series of rowing challenges and strength moves.

Spinning from home

That’s right – no longer do you have to drag yourself out of bed at crazy o’ clock to get to a spin class. There are tons of apps on the market that will allow you to get pro-level training from the comfort of your own living room – all you need to do is get yourself an exercise bike. Our fave? BKool – it’s an app that offers you full-length spin classes from expert instructors while displaying all your performance stats on screen – your power, heart rate and calories burned. Best of all, you don’t have to fit into a gym schedule, as BKool classes are available on demand. AMAZING.

Dance cardio

Things have moved on since your nan’s Jazzercise VHS back in the 90s. Dance cardio is back, and it’s in more forms than ever before. Whether you’re keen for hip hop moves, Latin vibes or full body burners, there’s something for everyone. London studio At Your Beat’s FitBEAT class blends commercial and hip hop routines with HIIT for a full body sweat, while Zumba have reinvigorated their format with the addition of core work – including a three-minute plank dance challenge. The burn is real.

Open water swimming

When it’s freezing outside the last thing you want to do is dive into an icy cold lake, but open water swimming is a must when it warms up. Whether you take to a lake, the sea or a local lido, the cold water is said to help boost your circulation as well as giving the added challenge of, well, being cold. In some cases, it’s also said to help your mental health. Whichever reason you choose to do it, make sure you’re well kitted out – invest in a wetsuit to protect your skin and improve your buoyancy, get polarised goggles so the water doesn’t dazzle you and grab a swimming hat to stop your hair getting in the way.

Gamified workouts

If you struggle to stay motivated working out then there’s only one thing to do – GAMIFY. Try out apps like Zombies, Run! which has narration that sees you try to survive a zombie apocalypse as you run, or Zwift Run which places a virtual reality avatar of you on real-life running routes as you tackle the treadmill. If you prefer a class setting, Digme Fitness offers spin classes with big screen displays showing you as a character cycling on virtual routes, plus it displays your distance cycled, watts (how much power you’re producing) and calories burned for an extra competitive edge.